Kyrah Brown

Written by Kenny Fremer

Photo taken by Brandon Paillere

Kyrah Brown is an instantly warm, kind person. She’s a senior studying political science and economics at Baruch, but as a creative writer spends a lot of her free time creating characters and stories via long, personal poems.

Her writing explores the many forces — relationships, events, and people — that have a large impact on her life. She usually starts with an emotion, then figures out how to best fictionalize that feeling. “I’ve always written pretty much everything - it’s harder to express things verbally, I end up getting tongue tied.” At the same time, she stresses the importance of keeping certain parts of her life to herself — hence a tendency toward fiction rather than direct stories from her life.

On the topic of her own work, Kyrah expresses her poetic pride and notes that her pieces are often lengthy and descriptive. “The depth that I’m able to express on the paper - it amazes me every time.” She explains that the writing may at first seem dark but there's plenty of light to be found in the untangling of emotions, issues, and thoughts in order to best reflect upon the intricacies of life.

As both an Encounters staff member and frequent poet, some of her work has been published in the magazine for the world to see. She explains, sharing her work can be a pretty terrifying process: “When they’re reading it, I wonder how they’re gonna react - because every poem comes from some element of my life.”

At the same time, however, she hopes that her readers can relate to whatever dissatisfaction or problem with which the poem is grappling; especially young women, who may relate to the poem “Her Growth.” This particular poem contains many elements regarding finding your own place in the world, regardless of the obstacles or people holding you back. Like the subject of the poem itself, Kyrah is constantly creating, growing, and carving out her own creative space in the world.

Benjamin Wallin

WRITTEN BY KYRAH BROWN

PHOTO BY BRANDON PAILLERE

Benjamin Wallin is a writer, film critic, and the current editor of the Arts and Style section for The Ticker. He first discovered that fiction writing could be used as an outlet of personal enjoyment in his senior year of high school when he had to take AP English. Some of his favorite writers are Kurt Vonnegut, Daniel Handler, and Italio Calvino. His new outlook on writing sparked motivation and he entered Baruch College ready to purse a double major in English and Journalism.

Ben’s love of film and cinematic critique pushed him to create a film club his freshman year. Though the club did not draw the momentum that he had hoped, his interest in film and writing did not stop there. His determination in finding an outlet to express his interests brought him to The Ticker. There he began writing film reviews, which allowed him to gain more exposure to the film industry, a new culture, and a new-found perspective.

Ben worked his way up to become an editor where he now covers not just film reviews, but the wider scope of the arts world and beyond. One of his most memorable pieces was an investigative article on a Baruch professor whose tweet may have been seen in a negative light by students. Now, as the Arts & Style editor, his job is to encourage and push other writers to step out of their comfort zones and write what readers need to hear.

As a graduating senior, Ben plans to pursue greater opportunities and write professionally, making note that his days of writing for free are over. His challenge, as is of most writers, is to continue finding originality and new ways to portray different stories. Little by little, Ben is building up his writing profile to develop and be able to adapt to different writing scenarios in his career. Along with The Ticker, Ben has a blog called Auteurial Intent (auteurialintent.com), and periodically writes for Refract Magazine. Wherever his future writing endeavors take him, Ben knows that he always wants his writing pieces to convey meaning and entertainment for his readers.

Victoria Merlino

WRITTEN BY MAYA YEGOROVA

PHOTO BY BRANDON PAILLERE

Victoria Merlino is a writer whose works emphasize character and style over plot. She focuses on poetry, explaining that her poems are often letters because they convey things she wants to say to people that she can’t say to them in real life.

Victoria was an active reader as a child and wrote her first story, inspired by Eragon, in elementary school. Before college, her writing showed an attempt to focus the reader into her work’s imagery. Now, her writing focuses more closely around particular feelings or moments.

Victoria’s themes are personal, as her goal is to connect with people and to express her emotions in a positive way. She is the Managing Editor of The Ticker, and her journalism experience strongly influenced her writing to become more refined.

Going forward, her goal is to create a young adult novel. Victoria is pursuing a double major in English and journalism with a specialization in creative writing and works at Pippin Properties, a literary agency in Midtown.